


Mission Comes First

by JemWithA_J



Category: Strike Back
Genre: Explicit Language, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22231273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JemWithA_J/pseuds/JemWithA_J
Summary: Alexander Coltrane is at the mercy of Russian terrorists who have their sights set on obtaining bombs which will cause major death and destruction. He had ordered the rest of his team to find and disarm the bombs while he tried to buy them some time. That was the mission. And mission comes first.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Mission Comes First

Alexander Coltrane spluttered as they finally lifted the filthy, sodden cloth from his face allowing him to breathe for the first time in what felt like a lifetime even though it was in all likeliness less than a minute since they started the latest bout of torture interrogation.

“Where are your team?”

The man spoke with a thick, Russian accent, his face obscured by a balaclava meaning that Alex could only see the dark irises of his eyes. He tried to move from the bench they had tied him to but the ropes were bound too tightly to his wrists so escape was futile.

“They are on their way to the location of the bombs you so desperately want.” Alex replied once he had caught his breath, “They are going to disarm and remove them and make sure you never get your hands on them…”

The Russian threw his fist down against Alex’s face and he felt the crunch of bone as he spat the blood from his mouth.

“How did you do it?” He sneered. “My contacts were secure. They gave me their word that the weapons were ours. How did you get the location out of them?”

“My team are good.” Alex grinned. “They went undercover. Posed as arms dealers. Made out that we would give them a vast sum of money for the bombs. More than you could pay…”

“You will tell me the location of the bombs, Colonel.” The man spat, “We have not come this far to be beaten now. I will find out.”

Alex’s mouth curled into a small grin again as he shook his head.

“No. I won’t. You can torture me all you like. I won’t tell you the location. And by the time you’ve finished with me they will have arrived there and dealt with the bombs and you’ll be left with nothing but a dead member of the British Army on your hands…”

The Russian scoffed, moving forwards so that he could lean in close towards Alex, who didn’t flinch, instead he carried on staring straight into his eyes.

“You expect me to believe that your team would leave their commanding officer to die at the hands of us whilst they go off and find these bombs? I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth…”

Alex’s voice was serious as he looked up at the man who held his life in his hands.

“The mission comes first. I have given them a direct order. They wouldn’t go against that.”

He could tell the man was getting frustrated and that would only mean bad things for him. But the longer he kept him talking or focussing his attention on him, the better chance the team had of completing the mission. Without warning the man threw the cloth against his face again before reaching for the bottle of water on the floor and pouring it into it.

“Tell me the fucking location of the bombs!”

He screamed it as Alex struggled against his bonds, the panic rising in him. They had shown them waterboarding during selection. Some unfortunate few had even experienced it though Alex was one of the lucky few who wasn’t chosen for that particular part of the training. He knew it was compared to drowning above water. But nothing could have prepared him for the burning in his lungs as he struggled for breath, the natural instinct of his body to fight fruitlessly against it, the fear coursing through his veins as he felt his oxygen levels depleting and the loss of consciousness washing over him. 

“WHERE ARE THE BOMBS?!”

He screamed it again and it was all Alex could do to keep fighting, the strength was dying in him, it felt like he was never going to stop. He closed his eyes, giving in to the feeling of unconsciousness that wanted to take him under. Then suddenly came a crash, followed by the sound of gunshot and the cloth was wrenched from his face. He gasped for breath, grateful for the fresh rush of oxygen and as he blinked the water from his eyes he saw Mac standing at his side, Wyatt guarding the door.

“What the hell are you two doing here?!”

He choked out as Mac sliced the ropes from his wrists. Looking from his boss then over to Wyatt at the door, Mac shook his head.

“Oh that’s gratitude for you…”

“Tell me about it.” Wyatt concurred, “Hello to you too Boss…”

“Just remind me…” Alex began, rubbing at his wrists from where the ropes had dug in, “What was the very last thing I told you before we split up?”

Wyatt looked over at his boss, thoughtfully.

“You said, “Whatever happens, the mission comes first. Forget about me. Finish the mission.”’

“Exactly.” Alex replied as he sat up slowly, not feeling quite ready to get to his feet just yet, “So I’ll ask you again, what the hell are you two doing here?”

“Well you see, here’s the thing,” Wyatt replied, looking over at Mac with a grin, “The four of us...well we didn’t really see the point in us all going to the same place to disarm four bombs. Especially when we all know that Novin is the expert when it comes to that. And we thought to ourselves, what are we experts in? And the answer was obvious…”

Alex looked from Mac to Wyatt, eyebrows raised, waiting for the answer.

“Disobeying orders.” Mac completed the sentence with a shrug, and Alex couldn’t help but grin, “That’s what we are experts in. Right boss?”

Alex laughed shaking his head.

“I’m not going to deny that one. How did you even know where I was? I didn’t leave you any details...Chetri…”

He realised with a shake of his head and as he looked over at Mac he nodded, confirming his suspicion.

“Don’t be mad with her Boss. She cares about you. We all do. We’re a team and we don’t leave a man behind. Even Wyatt…”

“Hey!”

Wyatt shot an affronted look in Mac’s direction as he passed Alex a handgun.

“You alright to move Boss?”

Alex nodded as he slowly got to his feet.

“Watch yourself Boss.” Wyatt called from the other side of the room, “Nasty business that waterboarding. Been there. Take it steady.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Wyatt, I’m fine…”

But as he walked the first few steps after the pair of them, he felt the sudden urge to vomit as the excessive filthy water in his body decided that it needed to come out. Wyatt looked over at Mac and shrugged.

“I did warn him…”


End file.
